Stu Unger: Poker Player
The primary reason for why Stu changed from gin rummy to poker was that Stu was a tiny bit too good at it. So skilled was he, that no player was able equal him. Even the commonly called professionals who were meant to be the most favorable at gin rummy were crushed when they competed against Stu. One such gin rummy masters was Harry Stein, nicknamed, "Yonkie". Harry was handed such a belittling beating at the hands of stu that he apparently quit competing in it professionally and never showed up at a gin rummy tournament.
Certainly, with a notoriety like that it was not too long before everyone became weary of playing against Stu Ungar. He couldn’t find any games and in his desperation he started doing something no one had done before. Stu issued beginning handicaps to potential competitors in the hope that they might compete opposed to him if they believed they held an edge. He deliberately played from a disadvantageous arrangement and one tale has it that stu even played with a constant cheater. Mid contest, he received advice that the absconder was at it one more time but mr. ungar stated that he deduced of the cheating and he would still win, which of course, he did.
The same trend followed Stu Ungar into Las Vegas. He won so much that the poker rooms began asking him not to bet in their respective premises anymore. The basis for it was that other casino customers would not be seated at the table if he were playing.
Stu Ungar is recalled more for his achievements in texas holdem poker but he himself always insisted that he was far more accomplished at gin rummy.
He defeated Doyle Brunson in the World Series of Poker in 1980 to become the youngest world camp. Because of his looks that made him appear far younger than he really was, he was nicknamed, "The Kid".
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